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Comparison Of Southern Ideology In Barn Burning And Brother To Dragons

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Southern Ideology in Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” and Robert Penn Warren’s Brother to Dragons
William Faulkner and Robert Penn Warren are arguably two of the 20th century’s greatest literary masters. Their works often center on a common subject: life in the Southern United States, especially during the 19th century. However, the two authors present the concept of Southern ideology very differently. Nowhere is this more evident than in Faulkner’s short story “Barn Burning” and Warren’s long poem, Brother to Dragons. Despite differences in setting and content, the two texts express both similar and opposing sentiments of Southern life and display Civil War-era influences. By comparing these two works, one can see the nature of each author’s viewpoints …show more content…

In “Barn Burning”, the protagonist’s father confronts him about how he nearly spilled a family secret: “‘You got to learn. You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you…’” (Faulkner 4). Although the boy later discloses the secret, it is only in the heat of the moment, once the risk to himself and others becomes unbearably great. These strong family ties are also found in the plot of Brother to Dragons. In the final scene between the two brothers, Lilburne and Isham, they appear to be standing over their mother’s grave, preparing to shoot each other, at the insistence of …show more content…

While Faulkner portrays honor as the most integral aspect of Southern identity, Warren’s poem is a sound rejection of the same sentiment. Both authors discuss the idea of familial obligation, probing the limits of what it means to be family in the context of Southern identity. Furthermore, the authors challenge traditional social conventions in different ways. William Faulkner and Robert Penn Warren, often considered two of the greatest literary minds of the 20th century, express their unique understanding and perception of Southern culture in their works “Barn Burning” and Brother to

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